


there's glitter on the floor after the party

by reeyachan



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Aged-Up Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Confessions, Drunken Confessions, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26980366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeyachan/pseuds/reeyachan
Summary: Gon never drinks.And Killua wonders why in the world he would decide to try it now, of all days, of all nights. Why now, when it's less than 12 hours before graduation?
Relationships: Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck
Comments: 12
Kudos: 186





	there's glitter on the floor after the party

**Author's Note:**

  * For [telrxnya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/telrxnya/gifts).



> For Lea. Hbd, wly. 🖤
> 
> ((Title from a line in "New Year's Day" by Taylor Swift))

Gon never drinks.

Even though Leorio dares him to take a tiny shot of whiskey at late night frat parties, and Kurapika offers a glass of wine at stay-overs, Gon always, always backs away with a shamefaced smile, palms in the air and head shaking _no_.

He's always the sober one up at four in the morning to pick up beer bottles and crumbs on the floor; the honorary caller of cabs for drunk friends when the sun comes up.

He has never tasted alcohol in his life.

And Killua wonders why in the world he would decide to _try it now_ , of all days, of all nights. Why now, when it's less than 12 hours before graduation?

"Make sure to head straight home, okay?" Wrinkled smile on a beer-flushed face, Leorio waves a lazy hand goodbye. A familiar shadow from inside his apartment's window materializes before he disappears; a click of his main door's lockset seizing time.

Silence.

And a cold gust of wind.

Killua feels it nipping at the exposed skin of his nape, he feels it tickling the tiny veins in his nostrils. He lets it in, inhaling the 2AM breeze and allowing it to stay in his lungs to extinguish the fire in his chest, tipsy boy squirming of figments under his grip.

"Gon," he calls.

He doesn't budge, but he laughs, he giggles. He's dreaming, intoxicated cherry cheeks puffing out faint Winter smoke from his button-nose. _Cute._

Killua releases the air he realized he's been holding in, warm blood instantly spreading from the bridge of his nose to the back of his ears. _Stupid Gon._ If only he'd realize what he's doing to him. _Making me suffer until the end._

Hey, maybe that's why he decided to get drunk specifically at Leorio's farewell party. It's their last school night together, the last moment before they'd move on and away to live their lives in the real world. Tomorrow would be different, for sure, but Killua is certain he'd remain the same. He's certain these feelings wouldn't go right away.

He tightens his hold on the ball of Gon's shoulder and guides him to walk. _Stupid Gon._ Should his best friend know? Should he tell? Ask? _Do you like me too?_ His pulses hammer as the pressure on his right arm begins to electrify him in the flesh. He swallows in the words his brain is itching to scream.

Stop.

No.

He could never bring himself to take advantage of the situation. He should not say it with him like this. But then again, Gon might not remember it in the morning and Killua could finally forget about this silly thing. He could finally forget about him.

_Stupid drunken Gon, why am I in love with an idiot like you?_

"Killua?"

 _No, call me stupid instead._ "What?"

Gon hesitates. Killua feels it. When he glances, he sees him looking away, frowning. "I'm sorry I got drunk."

A scoff. "Yeah, you should be. Mito-san's gonna kill you if she finds out during the ceremony later."

"Yeah…"

"Seriously, who's gonna carry your drunk ass all the way from Leorio's stinky apartment to the dorm if I'm alcohol-intolerant, too, huh?"

"Yeah… Thank you, Killua. Sorry."

"You better be!"

"I am."

"Good."

Gon remains quiet for the remainder of their walk back on campus grounds. Killua figures he's mind is too foggy and sight too blurry to start and keep a conversation. It seems like it, because even as Killua initiates a topic to help him stay awake, Gon is silent, void of any movement, until he lets loose from Killua's grip and lets his body collapse in the middle of the football field, limbs spread out like a starfish on grass, honey-gold eyes wide and bright beneath the cloudless night sky.

Killua stands askew and crosses his arms to demand an explanation for this infantile act, ignoring how that small, gentle smile tugged prettily at his heartstrings. "What's up with you tonight, Gon?"

The smile grew wider, lovelier. "I wanted our last day of school to be worthwhile."

Killua laughs. "And your idea of it being worthwhile is chugging cup after cup of rum cola?" He descends to sit on the grass next to Gon. "Sometimes you still surprise me."

"It's surprisingly good! Tastes just like cola!"

"That's why it's called _rum cola_ , dumbass."

Gon echoes with hoarse childlike cackles, filling the dead air with the tunes of Summer, of late night convenience store visits, of after dark sneak-outs and 5AM budget ice creams, of secret crushes and fast-beating hearts.

And as Killua listens to this music, gazing into his best friend's sunny eyes and feeling the warm comfort radiating from his presence, he decides that this is enough. This is okay. He'd be fine like this. He could live as this.

"Look, Killua, the moon's pretty."

_As his friend._

_His best friend._

He shouldn't expect anything more. "Yeah." Because this should be enough. "I thought so t--"

"Not as pretty as you."

_His dearest friend--_

_Wait._ "What?"

"I said you're pretty."

Killua widens his eyes at Gon. He searches for hints of jest, blue eyes capturing the yellow gleam from streetlights that hovered near. Could hearts break free from one's ribcage? Because Killua feels that his has already dropped to the earth's core. It burns so much he is feeling it in his cheeks.

But Gon seems humorless. He looks earnest, honest and a little confused. He sits up and faces Killua, drowning himself in his deep-sea gaze before moving his lips to speak. "I love you, Killua."

 _What the heck. Stupid Gon._ "Y-You mean as a friend--"

"No." Gon scoots.

Killua exhales. _No. Please._ "Gon."

"Killua." He blinks, eyebrows meeting at the center of his forehead, mind thoughtful, a little tipsy maybe, yet determined, careful. His lips part once more to utter the words as slowly and firmly as he could. "I am so in love with you."

Everything suddenly comes to a stop.

Time and gravity cease to exist.

Sun, moon, stars are of distant ideologies.

Air dissipating.

What remains are those golden eyes that always spark a campfire in Killua's chest, staring intently into his own, meaning every letter and every syllable. But it all comes crashing down on him when he remembers, "You're just drunk, stupid." _No, he couldn't possibly. Could he?_

But Gon just laughs, hearty, his usual. "I wanted to tell you for so long but I've always been a little too tense." He exhales, as though he just released the ball of nerves that had formed in his lungs. "And I learned that people tend to confess feelings easily when they've had a little alcohol intake."

Blue eyes glisten as the heart slowly accepts, sweet, savory, intense. "How?"

Gon smiles, and it is the kind that would either make Killua want to kiss him on the lips, or dread that he's going to say something embarrassing. "Because you told me you're in love with me one time at four in the morning in Leorio's apartment."

It's the latter.

_Stupid._

_Stupid, stupid._

But also the former--malt-bitter, yet sugary sweet on his lips.

_I love you, too._


End file.
